


The Way It's Always Been

by 7000dominos



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Best Friends, Buddies, Epic Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Just Besties Saving the World, Male Friendship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Road Trips, Slice of Life, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23962051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7000dominos/pseuds/7000dominos
Summary: "Guard the king with our lives - that's the way it's always been. I've embraced my duty. And I take pride in it."Duty and pride don't quite equal love, but it's clear in every move he makes. If you know where to look.--A collection of scenes from the game that made me squee at dog-only frequencies. A character study of sorts, featuring the whole Chocobro crew and exploring some pithy buddy moments on the road to an endless night. Plus stoicism, friendship, and camping.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia & Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum, Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum & Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16





	The Way It's Always Been

**Author's Note:**

> There are so many little moments in this game that expertly hint at how well the boys know each other and how much they care. 
> 
> The scene in the rain right after Insomnia falls, when Prompto gets all flustered 'cause Noct is upset and drops the phone and Ignis hands it back to him with a 'hang in there, buddy' shoulder clap. 
> 
> When Noct finally has his 'what the heck is going on, I hate this' moment right after picking up the first of the Royal Arms and the others just quietly turn away to give him some privacy. 
> 
> Even how every time someone is in 'DANGER' in combat (a lot, bc I am terrible at fighting, don't @ me) and one of the others helps them up. I just LOVE THE DEPICTION OF FRIENDSHIP in this game and I want more stories about it so here we are. 
> 
> A few extra notes:  
> • the title of the full work (+ the first chapter) is from the mission in the game that gave me this idea, based largely on Noct's relationship with Gladio  
> • but these stories will include other scenes and "pairings," if you will  
> • 95% of the dialogue is verbatim from the game, but there are lines that have been edited or added for clarity/funsies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Noctis and Gladio bicker and bond en route to the Archaean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> • the first part of this series is intentionally given the same title as the full series. it's v confusing.  
> • this scene turned out WAY longer than I thought it would, so I cut it in half at what felt like a natural ending point. I'm not sure the second half feels relevant/necessary, but I've started a portion of it from the POV of Iggy and Prompto, so we shall see what comes of it

Gladio had been the first of them to know Noct was going over the edge of the Disc.

He'd have been the one to go after Noct even if he hadn't - it was a long, hard, hot tumble to the center of the crater, and if Noctis was hurt, only Gladio had the precise combination of muscle, will, and cajoling to get their prince (king?) back up to safety. But that hadn't been the deciding factor. In fact, it was Ignis who'd first realized Noct was in danger. The moment the earth had started trembling, he'd done just what he'd always done, seeing three, four steps ahead. He'd felt his belly constrict as he realized Noct was far too close to an already precipitous edge, had known that edge would give even as first Prompto and then Gladio shouted out in alarm. For once, Ignis was louder than both of them, worry sharpening his usually even timbre. 

"Get away!" he snapped. "Quickly!"

But Noct wasn't getting anywhere. As the tremors intensified, stealing the feet out from beneath Ignis and Prompto, Noctis went to his knees, his palm buried in his eye sockets, a groan lost to the sound of the earth tearing itself apart. The headaches had been plaguing him for days, worsening as they drew closer to the Disc of Cauthess and their likely, if strange, source. Later, Ignis would agonize over whether he should have known Noct wouldn't be safe there.

But in the moment, the prince had just enough time to turn back to them, a grimace of pain and resolve plastered across his pallid features - before the ground fell away from beneath him, Noctis, Ignis and Prompto all agape. 

Only Gladio had realized Noctis would be too long incapacitated to move himself, and an instant later, even as Ignis was struggling to get to his feet, Gladio was already disappearing into the earth after the man to whom his life was bound.

Gladio was a shield - hell, he was _the_ Shield - and a shield was a tool, and a tool didn't feel fear. But god _damn_ , Noctis loved to give him a run for his money. 

He had known the moment the kid had doubled over he wasn't going to get it together in time to get out of the way. Of course he wasn't. Mentally, Gladio sent himself a firm reminder to double down on strength and dexterity training next time Noct got a break. First, though, he was going to find who, or whatever, kept torturing his wayward liege, and bit the shit out of that or them. Training that stubborn punk was tough enough as it was, and he sure as shit didn't need competition in what Noct decided to remember. 

All of this he filed away for whenever he wasn'tcareening into the center of a near-molten crater on his ass, trying to focus instead on the prince, and how the hell to get the both of them back to safety. He could see already he wasn't going to be able to stop himself comfortably, let alone grab Noct before he went over into a fall even Gladio wouldn't be able to recover him from. A quick scan didn't reveal any handholds, or none that would be able to catch both of them at terminal velocity without dislocating a shoulder or two. And if Noct _was_ hurt - _I'll kill him_ \- Gladio would need two hands to haul him back up. But they were both coming up on a plateau in the otherwise steeply sloped sides of the Disc. It wasn't very wide, little more than a hiccup on a slide to the center of the earth. But it was a chance, and that was all Gladio had ever needed.

Rolling onto a hip to increase his speed - swallowing a curse as he felt a stone or branch rip open the side of his leg - Gladio maneuvered himself to just above where he figured Noct was going off. Watched the kid try to roll to his stomach to grab at anything as the ledge approached, and winced in sympathy as he undoubtedly succeeded only flaying his hands to shreds. The shield braced himself to watch the prince's effort fail, go sliding backwards off the little ledge - and then a second later grunted as he dug both heels in at the lip of the ledge, letting his momentum carry him forward just enough to get a hand around Noct's forearm just as the prince disappeared from sight.

" _NOCT!_ "

There was an instant where they both kept sliding, just long enough for the barest feelings of shame, regret, guilt - and then Gladio stopped and Noct with him. Gladio grunted as his entire right shoulder exploded with pain, Noct's weight and momentum tearing more than a few muscles. It hurt like a bitch. But Noctis was alive.

Gladio allowed himself the barest hint of a smirk, what might have been called smug in a lesser man. "Gotcha," he gasped. 

Noctis didn't reply, not even to bitch at him that he'd ' _had it under control,_ ' and Gladio could tell in an instant the kid was still hurting. _Shit_. Ignoring the muscle spasms rocketing up his legs and back, he reached down with his other hand, his expression far more impassive than he felt. 

"C'mon, Noct, you gotta give me something here," he growled. "Pull yourself _up_."

Noct said nothing - not a good sign - but the words were enough to spur him to some semblance of action, and even as the prince put up a trembling hand to grasp a smoldering ledge, Gladio reached down, grabbed a handful of torn shirt, and hauled them both back over. 

Noctis went immediately prone, half groaning, half trying to catch his breath, but Gladio was, for once, not watching the prince. 

Instead, brown eyes were wide, fastened on the 500-foot golem of flesh, fire, and stone rising from the Disc of Cauthess, the glowing Meteor of the Six balanced on massive, stony shoulders.

"What the...?" murmured Noctis beside him, notably pale, but slowly finding his way to his feet.

Gladio didn't answer. Whatever the hell it was, the shield wasn't about to leave himself and Noctis any more vulnerable than they already were. Injuries forgotten, he rolled gracefully to his feet, sword hand empty but at the ready, angled between Titan and the prince as the latter found his feet. 

"Goddamn," Noctis continued from behind him, sounding, Gladio thought, only half as stunned as he ought to. "This is the Archaean?"

"Seems we woke the big guy up," Gladio said sagely, still watching the first of the Astrals even as he scanned the crater's steep slopes for a way back to the surface. Noctis may have found his messenger, but it was going to be tough to interpret anything dead. At the very least, they had to regroup, and Ignis had always been a far more competent strategist anyway.

Noctis, of course, had other plans.

"He...he's trying to tell me something," Noct said, staring up at the Astral as though he could find what he needed there. But Titan only roared something in his incomprehensible growl, causing Noctis to double over again. "I...don't understand..." he moaned, half miserable, half just plain frustrated. Gladio risked a glance back to his king, now worried he might have to carry Noct out of here. Which would be a real bitch.

"Noct!" Prompto's voice rang out, tight with worry, from 200 feet up the side of the crater. They both turned to look, and Prompto waved down. "You okay?"

Ignis's voice overlapped his a moment later. "Thanks heavens you're safe." As close as the man ever got to an actual prayer of supplication. "Is there a way back up?"

"No," Noctis called back, perhaps more himself now that the Archaean had fallen silent once more. Though it would take more than silence to make Gladio forget there was still a _god_ looming over his shoulder.

"No," said again. "But there's a path. Gonna see where it leads."

Gladio grunted his agreement. "You two try to get down," he shouted back up. One way or another, they weren't getting out of here without going past Titan. Noct was in rough shape, and even the shield of the king didn't trust himself to take down an Astral on his own. Not with Noct to worry about.

Luckily, it seemed the rest of their retinue, or at least Ignis, was of the same mindset. 

"Very well," he called back down, straightening to beckon to Prompto, even as Gladio watched Noctis, only somewhat more steady on his feet, turn back into the crater. "We'll find a way. Be careful, both of you."

Gladio heard Prompto blurt a shrill, "What? We're going _where_?" only half drowned out by a falsely cheery, "You, too!" from Noct before the prince crouched to drop down a ledge of smoldering stone.

Gladio swallowed an instant spike of frustration. _Idiot_.

"You almost went flying head first off a cliff into an Astral and you're thinking now's the time to run ahead?"

He could almost hear Noctis roll his eyes in response. "Maybe _you_ don't get left behind," he said tersely, without slowing down. Pouting, again, headlong into danger.

With a calm borne of years of Noct's petulance, Gladio closed the space between them in three long strides, expertly stopping the prince with a hand on the shoulder, just as a swarm of panicked dynoaevises burst through a clearing in the stone ahead. Gladio felt Noctis tense, knew he was waiting for an argument. Which at least meant the kid knew he was wrong. So Gladio said only, "They're on edge." And then, with a wry smirk as he let Noctis go again, "Let's not ruffle their feathers any more, yeah?"

A groan accompanied the near-audible eye roll this time. Gladio found he didn't mind so much if it meant the prince was feeling more himself. No matter how annoying _himself_ was.

"You wanna try shutting your beak?" Noct offered after a moment.

"Just a little _sound_ advice," Gladio returned without missing a beat.

"Ha. Like a parrot in my ear," Noct said. But he slowed down. 

Good thing, too. The Disc had been throwing up smoke for centuries, since the Meteor of the Six had fallen...well, Iggy ought to know when all that had supposedly gone down. Even today, the crater was hot enough to power all of Duscae. Good news for Duscae, not so much for anyone unlucky enough to land inside the Disc. Less than five minutes, and Gladio could already feel sweat rolling down his back in fat beads, could feel the heat threatening to blister his feet through the soles of his boots if he stood still too long. The sooner they finished all this up, the better.

Apparently, Noct agreed, at least with part of it. 

"How the hell does it get this _hot_?" he groaned, though his tone of voice was more 'leave me alone, I'm taking a nap' than the troubling 'my head might split open before we can figure out what's wrong' note from before. It was somehow both annoying and reassuring. "It feels like I'm about to combust."

Gladio agreed, but he needed Noct on his feet more than he needed Noct happy. That was the basis of their whole relationship, really, and while he knew it bugged Noct to no end, that stubborn fury had always gotten him through the most brutal training sessions with Gladio. Whatever else he was to the prince, he was his shield first.

"Suck it up, princess. You want out of here, let's finish the job and get back on the road."

Noctis huffed a response, but anything else he might have said was forestalled (thank the gods) by Titan's rumbling at the edge of another huge dropoff. 

Noctis exhaled. "Damn..."

"Over here," Gladio said. Not that it wasn't a hell of a sight. Titan loomed hundreds of feet overhead, great spurs of stone jutting from his body, the meteor still glowing and iridescent blue atop towering shoulders. But Gladio still didn't trust himself down here with Noct only at half capacity. There would be time for gaping later, but only if they got out alive.

He beckoned the young prince to the ledge where the path dropped off abruptly...save for about ten inches of crumbling stone jutting from the sheer face of the cliff. Gladio stood, his back flush against another rise of smoldering stone, the toes of his boots dangling precipitously over a drop of a few hundred feet at least. Noctis balked.

"Quit bitching," Gladio said coolly. It'd ignite the prince's temper again, but it was the best way to keep him on his feet and out of his head. And Gladio had a duty. "Just take it slow, and you'll be fine."

"Great," Noct drawled, but he sidled over beside Gladio, who held out a hand. He was going first. He always went first. 

They were no more than halfway across when the tremors came again. Gladio swore, swiveling his head so quickly, even he felt dizzy. But -

"Noct?"

Noctis was leaned back against the stone as far as he could manage, shaking in an effort to keep upright. He moaned. "My...head..."

Gladio swallowed another curse. "Again?" he said, trying to sound more annoyed than concerned. It only half worked. "Of all the...A'right, fine, then. Let's hurry the hell across."

He'd expected a snarky reply, but Noct only gave him a protracted groan, and Gladio risked looking away from his feet, from the walls of the crater, from Titan and any other incoming threats - to look at Noctis. Funny, how the kid could be both his sworn duty and the very thing to make him forget it at the same time. Even so, he felt his brain smother his concern with half a dozen exit strategies all at once. How far to the next ledge? If Noct collapsed now, could he make a leap for it and get them both back to somewhere safe? Or maybe just Noctis? Hell, kid wouldn't survive long here on his own, though, not if another tremor came, and that was only if Gladio could manage to get him to the other side of the ridge first. 

_Shit_.

"Noct." His voice was far calmer than he felt, an attempt to give the prince something to focus on other than the pain and the heat. _Fuck_ , it was hot. "You doing alright?"

This time, the prince gave him words, though they weren't directed at the shield. Instead, he raised his head, looking out over the void, his expression equal parts agony and fury. Gladio knew his temper was about to take over before Noct even spoke, because of _course_ it fucking was. 

"Noct, don't - "

"Hey!" the prince shouted, even as Titan seemed to turn its attention back to them, or at least back to Noctis. One mammoth hand dropped from the meteor, stretching toward the prince's precarious perch, and Gladio had to fight the urge to put himself between Noctis and the threat, his brain remembering there was a quarter-mile drop before his instinct did. 

Noctis, however, seemed much less burdened by the laws of gravity. Leave it to that kid to antagonize the gods.

"Titan!" he demanded. "What's the big idea?"

"Save it!" barked Gladio, fear and fury making his voice hard. "Get to solid ground first."

Noct grunted but kept moving. "Faster," he said. It was meant, Gladio was sure, to be a command, an argument but it came out a reed-thing plea. Gladio struggled to professionally ignore his worry, his rising fury at his own helplessness. _Training_ , he told himself. _Just like training._ He'd given Noctis worse in sparring matches. He'd get them both through this if it killed him. Somehow.

"Calm down," he directed, his voice far calmer than he felt, because he had to be. "I'm going as fast as I can." 

Again, no answer from Noct, but from where he was, Gladio could see the kid shaking, knew instinctively he wouldn't last much longer on his feet. Almost without his bidding, Gladio sank into combat mode. A single gnarled tree, bare and charred, jutted from the crater's face, less than a meter from his shoulder. He doubted it'd hold their combined weight, but he didn't see many other options, and if they were lucky, it wouldn't need to. If -

"...Gladio," Noct managed. "I can't - "

Several things happened at once. Titan rumbled a roar and reached out a hand as if to pluck Noctis from the cliffside; Noctis gave a muted cry, clutched his head in both hands, and buckled forward as his knees gave way; and Gladio, barely on solid ground himself, crouched, feeling himself tip forward into the pit. His fingers closed around Noct's at the precise same time his other hand found charred bark, and as Noct's dead weight threatened to tumble both of them into oblivion, he twisted, once more feeling his shoulder wrench painfully as he hurled Noct up and over to safety. An instant later, Titan's great fist demolished the wall where Noctis had been. Holding his breath, Gladio let himself fall the handful of feet to the stone golem's clenched fingers, tensing himself for when he felt the thing move to launch himself into the air. A moment later, he felt the ground connect with his body, forcing the air from his lungs, hearing Noctis gasp alongside him as the dust cleared.

Again. 

It was, admittedly, tempting to stay there. But if Titan wasn't immediate danger, it certainly wasn't relenting either. Swallowing a groan, Gladio lurched to his feet once more, and was glad, even proud to see Noctis was struggling for the same.

"If that's his welcome, hate to see how he treats intruders," Gladio muttered, reaching down to help Noctis up. 

"He wants to talk, so do I," Noct grumbled, standing painfully.

"Glad to hear it," the shield responded. "Let's move."

To his surprise, Noctis didn't argue, seeming spurred on by the need for an answer, if not, y'know, safety or reason. Gladio growled but said nothing. He was glad the kid was on his feet, but 'til he had that answer, there was no telling when the tremors could come again, and Noct couldn't keep getting stuck at cliff ledges on his own if he couldn't even keep his balance.

 _Idiot_.

There were times Gladio wanted to strangle the kid. 

He loved Noctis, he did. Like a friend, a brother, a king. Well. A prince, anyway. And he respected Noctis had a lot on his shoulders, even without his father's death aside. But the kid had a duty, too, same as him, same as Ignis. Even Prompto had trained for a month to be able to take care of himself so he wouldn't become a liability. Why couldn't Noctis, now the king of a fallen city, do the same?

It pissed him off. And if Gladio was being honest, it scared the hell out of him, too. His job, his _life_ , was to protect the king. But Noct had a tendency to forget he carried far more lives than just his own (though realistically, Gladio knew Noctis never forgot, even if he wanted to), like he harbored some twisted death wish. And the shield didn't know what to do with that. 

Up ahead, he heard Noctis groan again, less pain, and more frustration this time. "I'm sick of this endless walking," he whined, and Gladio snapped. 

For the third time in under 30 minutes, the shield reached out and grabbed a handful of Noct's shirt, but this time, it wasn't to yank him back from the edge of a precipice. Or at least, not so literally. 

He spun the young prince around to face him, pinning him up against a craggy spire of stone. Maybe harder than he'd meant to, but then Gladio had never been great with fear. Anger. Whichever. 

And at least it meant the kid would listen. 

"And _I'm_ sick of your endless whining," he growled. "Calm the hell down."

Predictably, Noct's expression of surprise settled instantly into a petulant frown. "Get off my back," he muttered, shoving Gladio's hand away. Well. At least he was getting his strength back. 

Still, Gladio didn't let up. This had been brewing too long, and best to get it out of the way before Iggy could try and stop him.

"Are you a man of royal blood, or aren't you?" he demanded. 

For a moment, Noctis refused to meet his gaze, still pouting furiously. Gladio didn't move, and after a moment, Noct's expression softened into something more resigned.

Still pissed, though. 

"Of course I am," he said, but without half the defensiveness Gladio would have expected. Maybe they were getting somewhere. "I couldn't forget it if I tried. So what?"

Gladio exhaled. "I ain't saying you've forgotten," he said, a little calmer himself. "But you gotta know, Noct: You're not the only one who's having a tough time." Saying without saying: _I lost a father, too._ "We're all on edge."

He paused, but Noctis didn't argue - didn't look at him, but didn't argue, either - so he went on. "We Amicitia are the king's sworn shields. Guard the king with our lives. That's the way it's always been."

_I'd die for you, you idiot. Why can't you see that?_

"And yeah, Noct, sometimes it's shit. But it's my duty. I've embraced it. I take pride in it."

 _I know it's hard. I know you're hurting._

"When you can't focus, I focus for you."

_You're not alone. You never were._

"It's my job, so let me do it, alright?"

_Let me help you._

He watched Noctis turn away slightly, swallow hard. Recognized the set of his jaw from his, _I'm Internalizing_ face, and was pissed - hurt - for a second that Noct hadn't heard him at all. But when he turned back, it was with an almost apologetic half smile. 

"Yeah," he said after a moment. "Alright."

Gladio nodded, didn't say a word, but felt secretly, impossibly relieved. So much more than he'd have guessed. So maybe he was doing a little internalizing of his own. Oops.

"Sorry," he added as he turned back down the path, now ahead of Noct. Between the prince and danger, like a shield was supposed to be. "Just...had to get that out." 

And then, just in case: "But Noct...don't rush ahead on your own." _You don't have to._

He was almost surprised when Noctis said, "Hey, Gladio. Your dad, I'm...grateful to him."

_Thank you._

And Gladio smirked. "Just doing his job."

That part, he found, didn't need any translation.

**Author's Note:**

> Yay, we did it! Final words:  
> • this is the first story I've published here (and the first fanfic I've published in actual millennia), so I'm sure there are things I've missed. let me know if you find anything particularly egregious  
> • I have a handful of scenes and snippets from the game started, but if you also have a favorite scene/memory/headcanon (is that what the kids are saying?), I'm totally open to suggestions  
> • lastly: thanks for reading!


End file.
